Turkish President Erdoğan to go on new Africa trip, attend BRICS summit

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will make the latest in a string of trips to Africa this week, visiting South Africa and Zambia as well as attending a summit of the BRICS leading emerging economies, the presidency said Sunday.

The Turkish government has made expanding Ankara's presence in Africa one of the priorities of his foreign policy.

Since being elected president in 2014, Erdoğan has visited 20 African countries.

According to the statement, Erdoğan will attend the BRICS summit of state and government heads -- Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa on July 25-27 in the South African city of Johannesburg.

On the sidelines of the summit, the Turkish president is expected to hold bilateral meetings with the leaders of BRICS member states and other leaders who have been invited.

Turkey is not a member of the BRICS, but Erdoğan will attend a special session in his capacity as the current chair of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) at the event, the presidency said.